Daily Scripture Reading: 1 John 4:16-19 KJV
1 John 4:16-19 KJV
(16) And we have known and believed the love that God hath to us. God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him.
(17) Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment: because as he is, so are we in this world.
(18) There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love.
(19) We love him, because he first loved us.
Today’s Devotional Is THE KNOWLEDGE OF GOD’S LOVE
GOD IS LOVE. Jesus Christ was the first to show men that God is love and man can only love God because God first loved him. We search in vain for such an idea within the philosophies Rome and Greece. This thought was firmly established in the literature of humanity by followers of Jesus Christ. B.C. was dominated by the ideas of power and majesty, but we now think of Love enthroned within the Divine Nature.
His Love surpasseth all knowledge. It may be applied to the masterly arraignment in Psalm 139. It focuses our rays. It besets us from behind and before. It restrains us gently. It is so high that we can’t reach it. It is there if you ascend to heaven; if you make your bed in the grave it will lift you to His heart. If we take the wings from the morning, it shines like the sunrise. If we go into darkness, it makes the night shine as bright as the day. It was there when we were born, and it will continue to care for us as we age. It is precious and its expression is so multitudinous, it cannot be described by mortal lips.
Even our sins will not diminish that Love. It is clear that Peter was deeply sinned, but it did not put a barrier between him and Christ. But that was not the case, for Christ rose for Peter and sent Him specifically for him. He restored him in the garden, and He showed him at the lakeside that His love was as good as ever (Mar_16.7; Joh_21.15).
His love will never fail. Jesus loved the young man and looked at him. But Jesus read his entire story and gave him the unexpected verdict: “Go, sell everything thou hast…and follow Me.” Christ also went away, saddened. He still loves us too much to spare us. God’s love is congruent with harsh dealings with those things that may cause us failure of the best.
Even when it seems otherwise, we believe in God’s love. “We have known,” the Apostle said, “God is Love.” Unutterable and unchangeable! There are times when it is necessary to believe in God, i.e. In the confusion of life’s difficulties. Many times, we are confronted with events and providences which seem inconsistent with God’s Love. We must then believe that God’s Love is the same. God is Love and we can only reach Him through His Love.
PRAYER for Today
Do not allow me to be content with musing or talking about Thy Love, O God. Give me the grace to manifest it in times of great need, as well as amid the daily worries and petty irritations. AMEN.